Medical Lake City Council Position 1
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Ask the doctors: Readers respond
Hello, dear readers! Welcome to our monthly letters column. The calendar is hinting at autumn, but in much of the United States, the heat waves continue. Please factor this into your daily lives. Try to limit exertion during peak heat and drink water throughout the day. Heat-related illnesses are far easier to prevent than to manage. And now, on to your letters.
Colville gets electric vehicle charging station in hopes of boosting local economies, aid EV owners
COLVILLE – The Washington State Department of Commerce and representatives from Avista celebrated a new fast electric vehicle charging station earlier this week.
Ask the doctors: Plant-forward diet can help control blood glucose
Dear Doctors: I suggest you talk about the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet for people with Type 2 diabetes. The results are marvelous, and I think the people with diabetes could be cured.
Ask the doctors: Balloon mitral valvuloplasty helps with stenosis
Dear Doctors: I’ve been getting dizzy when I exercise or even stand up too fast. I got sent to a cardiologist who says it’s mitral valve stenosis. He thinks I’m a good candidate for a catheter repair that uses a balloon. Can you talk that?
Ask the doctors: Too much TV can have an emotional cost
Dear Doctors: Is there any connection with dementia patients and television? I am part of a group at my church that visits people living in memory care, and I noticed the television is always on. Now my mother is in the early stages of dementia, and her television is always on.
For first time, more children obese than underweight, UNICEF finds
For the first time, more school-age children and adolescents worldwide are obese than underweight, according to U.N. findings - a trend driven in large part by a rapid increase in obesity among young people in low- and middle-income countries over the past quarter-century, even in places where undernutrition persists.
Ask the doctors: Alopecia areata does not affect actual hair follicle
Dear Doctors: At about 26 years old, my father became sick and lost all of his hair. Not only did he lose hair on his head, he had no eyebrows, eyelashes or beard and even lost the hair on his arms and legs. Do you know what may have caused that?
Ask the doctors: How the doctors write their column
Dear Doctors: I’m puzzled by people whose doctors diagnose a problem but write to you to answer their questions. I believe you are trying to educate your readers. But might there be a way to present them without making those who ask them look foolish for not asking their own doctors first?
Ask the doctors: Ideal conditions for accurate blood pressure readings
Dear Doctors: I have read that for an accurate blood pressure reading, you should first sit in a comfortable chair with no talking or distractions for at least five minutes. But my doctors all slap on a cuff, ask questions the whole time, then exclaim that I have high blood pressure. I have to ask for at least five minutes of quiet before a reading. How do we convince doctors to change?
Ask the doctors: Dynamic ultrasound may help diagnose radial nerve compression
Dear Doctors: I’m having radial nerve problems whenever I use my triceps, like pushing the lawn mower, opening doors or pushing up from the recliner. It’s making my thumb and pointer finger very weak. An ultrasound didn’t show any nerve compression. If compression happens only when I flex the muscle, does that mean it won’t show on a diagnostic workup?
Jellyfish are out in force on the Atlantic Coast. Here’s what to know.
They’re squishy and pack a punch when they sting. And this year’s jellyfish bloom is hitting on Atlantic Coast beaches hard.
Ask the doctors: Readers respond
Hello, dear readers, and welcome to a bonus letters column. We’re thrilled to have an abundance of interesting mail. Let’s dive right in.
Ask the doctors: The health effects of microplastics
Dear Doctors: The more I read about microplastics, the more I want to do something to lower my family’s exposure to them. Thoughts? Also, what is so much worse about microplastics than dust or pollen?
Ask the doctors: Microplastics can be found in almost everything
Dear Doctors: What are microplastics, and where do they come from? They’re all over the news, and it’s hard to tell if they’re a real problem or just another internet scare. One news story said there’s an entire teaspoonful of them in our brains. Is this true?
Ask the doctors: Trochlear nerve palsy can be congenital or acquired
Dear Doctors: I had an episode where it felt like my left eye went out of alignment and I couldn’t focus. A brain scan was clear, but the doctor said it’s cranial nerve palsy. He says it’s from a concussion I had last spring. I’m fine again but really worried. Will it happen again? Is there treatment?
Leaders and policy analysts warn of ACA insurance costs increasing to 75% next year, potentially impacting thousands in eastern Washington
Health insurance costs for people who buy individual coverage through the Affordable Care Act could spike next year, affecting thousands of people across Washington state.
Ask the doctors: Short naps may help cardiovascular health
Dear Doctors: I recently watched a video on the positive effects of napping in regard to heart disease. I am 66; I am a lifelong athlete with normal blood pressure and an LDL cholesterol level that is slightly elevated. I’ve been considering a statin and now wonder how napping may affect that decision.
Ask the doctors: Adding zinc to diet may help geographic tongue
Dear Doctors: I have had geographic tongue for almost two years. It’s unsightly and sometimes quite painful, but my ENT assures me it’s not related to infection or cancer. A prescription for nystatin oral hasn’t made a difference. Is there anything else to try?
RFK Jr. poked at vaccine research funds. That could hurt local research, industry
The technology once embraced by President Donald Trump for speeding the development of COVID-19 vaccines is now under scrutiny.
U.S. halts visitor visas for Gazans, including humanitarian medical visas
The Trump administration announced Saturday that it was halting visitor visas for people from Gaza, including those used for children to receive urgent medical treatment in the United States.